South Korea proposes military talks with North Korea

South Korea on 17 July offered military and Red Cross talks with North Korea to ease military tensions along the border and resume humanitarian exchange between peoples of the two sides.

According to a report by Xinhua, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk proposed to Pyongyang holding talks of the military authorities on Friday at Tongilgak, a building in the North side of the truce village of Panmunjom.

The dialogue was aimed at stopping all hostile acts that escalate military tensions near the military demarcation line (MDL) dividing the two Koreas, the vice minister said in a statement.

Suh called on Pyongyang to restore the military communications line in the western region to send a reply to South Korea's dialogue overture, expressing anticipation of the DPRK's positive response.

This comes as earlier on July 6 in Germany, South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced his administration's peace initiatives for the Korean Peninsula.

The President pointed to denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, guaranteeing security, and a more fundamental approach to uprooting North Korean weapons issues, starting with dialogue.

The president emphasised that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the October 4 Declaration in which the two Koreas agreed, in 2007, to expand family reunions between families and relatives separated by the border. Noting that Chuseok, one of Korea's biggest holidays, falls on Oct. 4 this year, the president said that since the two anniversaries overlap, it would be meaningful to hold family reunions on that day as a first step in addressing this humanitarian issue.

-ANI